


stolen hearts

by veLEvet



Category: EXID (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Con Artist!Hyelin, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-15 19:00:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15419496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veLEvet/pseuds/veLEvet
Summary: For the first time, Hyelin has to give back what she stole.





	1. The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> this isn't what i'm supposed to be writing but i wrote it anyway

College campuses are her favorite spots to work in. They're just too easy, especially the campuses for those really gifted universities. The students either come from rich enough families to be able to go someplace so exclusive, or they're so smart they end up stupid when it comes to simple common sense. They're the perfect targets for Hyelin. She can always make a good profit swiping from those stupid college kids.

There's a higher path that Hyelin camps out on that allows her to scout the people walking a bit below. She leans against the library's outer walls, watching the path further down the hill. She watches, waiting for her perfect target to just come walking along. It doesn't take long for Hyelin's eyes to catch sight of the latest student walking that path, and her lips curve into a grin at the sight. She's perfect.

The student, Hyelin guesses, is around the age of a sophomore. Since it's the late fall, it's fairly cold, and the student's wearing a heavy jacket of a rich fabric. That's Hyelin's first tell that this student is her perfect target: the designer clothes. The second tell is that the student is holding nothing, though there's a bit of a bump within the jacket's one pocket. Hyelin knows it can't be a phone because she can see the phone's silhouette inside the girl's front jean pocket. That must make the object in the jacket pocket a wallet, Hyelin assumes. The only obstacle that presents itself is the student tucking her hand into that one jacket pocket, like she's holding onto whatever's inside like she's afraid she'll lose it. Hyelin snickers at that. The student has good reason to be afraid.

Hyelin peels herself off the wall and starts walking on the higher path parallel to the student on the lower one. She keeps a faster pace than the student, knowing that she'll have to get far enough ahead for her trick to work. She watches the student every step of the way, hoping that the student would take their hand out of their pocket to give Hyelin easier access. That doesn't seem to be the case, but as if something so small could deter Hyelin. She's experienced. She has a plan.

Hyelin jogs to get a sizeable lead over the student and she merges onto the same path as her, though they walk towards each other. From there, Hyelin can get a better view of the student's face, and Hyelin can see just how tense she is and how nervous she looks. Hyelin frowns, feeling a pang of sympathy for whatever the student is going through, but it doesn't stop her from carrying out her plan.

The student has a face Hyelin can just tell makes her easy to deceive, so Hyelin opens the settings on her phone and pulls up the ringtone selection before tucking her phone back into her coat pocket, thumb hovering over the screen. She waits until they're only a few meters apart before she taps the screen and causes the ringtone she taps to resound loudly. Hyelin watches as the student thinks it's her ringtone, and she uses both hands to pull out her phone from her jeans pocket to see if someone's calling her. It only provides Hyelin a brief moment to full access to the student's jacket pocket, but it's all Hyelin needs.

Hyelin slips her fingers into the jacket pocket as she walks past the student, capturing the wallet between her index and middle fingers and sliding it out of the pocket with ease. She quickly tucks the wallet into her long coat and keeps walking, raising her phone to her ear and pretending to answer a call to play along with the ruse. She gets a few meters away and notices she's in the clear and snickers to herself. Too easy.

She stops a little ways away and opens the wallet with an eager grin to see what's inside, but something drops out of the wallet at her feet. Hyelin blinks and picks it up, brushing off some of the specks of dirt. It's a piece of folded blue paper, and her curiosity gets the better of her and she opens it. Hyelin glances it over for a quick second and notices it's a letter addressed to someone named 'Arin.' Might as well read what the letter's about…

Hyelin doesn't know what she's expecting, but what she reads definitely is nowhere close to what she could imagine. It's some sort of love letter, a confession maybe, and even though Hyelin is a dropout she knows enough from early high school literature classes to know this is some rich, masterful writing. The words of the letter are so beautiful, so poetic, so sweet and warm and soft. She can tell that every ounce of that girl's heart went into writing this letter, and even though Hyelin knows she isn't that Arin person, reading that letter still takes her breath away. She folds the letter again and lets out a long, heavy breath to compose herself, shaking her head to snap out of it. Hyelin just frowns and looks down the path again, watching that student walking away. Now Hyelin feels kind of bad…

Drawing in a sharp breath, Hyelin psychs herself up enough to start walking towards that girl again. She opens the wallet and checks the I.D. inside, finally getting a name to that face. Heeyeon. Cute name.

Hyelin follows Heeyeon for a little while from her sizeable distance away, hands nervously fidgeting with the wallet every step of the way. She doesn't know what's come over her, but she doesn't really want the wallet anymore. She feels too bad, and Heeyeon needs that letter back. It really is a beautiful letter… and Hyelin doesn't want Heeyeon to have to rewrite it. It's a masterpiece the first time Heeyeon writes it. Doing it again might ruin it…

Hyelin only gets so far until she sees Heeyeon walk into a building, only accessible by a keycard. She twists her lips and puffs her cheeks out at the sight. A quick sizeup of the building shows that there's really only one entrance, so maybe Hyelin can just wait. She finds a nearby bench and plops down on it, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh.

Without being able to help it, Hyelin pulls out the letter again and opens it, reading it over again. Hyelin doesn't know why she comes back to the letter, but she finds something really captivating about it. It's wrong, she thinks, getting so worked up over a letter meant for someone else that she stole, but she really can't help it and she keeps trying to block out the name 'Arin' at the top as she reads it. Hyelin kind of hates it, how a simple pickpocketing job leads to her not only feeling bad but wanting to return what she stole. She wants to see Heeyeon again too, which is something even more ridiculous, she thinks.

Hyelin just sighs and folds the letter again, tucking it back into the wallet and putting both inside her coat pocket. She leans forward and puts her head in her hands, groaning when she feels just how warm her face is. Heeyeon was supposed to be the perfect target, not Hyelin's worst nightmare…

Hyelin's jolted from beating herself up mentally by hearing someone shout a familiar name nearby.

"Arin!" A masculine voice calls. Hyelin looks up immediately and glances towards the source. She sees a man, the voice she presumes, approach a smaller woman, and they embrace. Hyelin furrows her eyebrows at the sight. She didn't expect Arin to be a girl… For some reason that revelation excites her, though she doesn't stay that way for long.

Hyelin watches as the two of them talk amongst themselves, very close and inside each other's personal space. It brings a frown to her face the more she watches, yet she's also surprised. It seems like Arin isn't available… She immediately thinks of Heeyeon and how crushed she would be if she found out. It kind of breaks Hyelin's heart, and she isn't even the one with a crush on this Arin girl. Her crush is on someone else…

Hyelin lets out a sad sigh upon seeing Arin and the guy kiss and walk away together, holding hands. She's so busy watching that she doesn't see how the door to that one building opens, and someone steps out and gets as far as the bench Hyelin's sitting on until they freeze.

Sensing someone near her, Hyelin looks over and see how Heeyeon is standing by her, looking off into the same direction Hyelin was moments before. She must've seen it, then…

Hyelin can see Heeyeon clench her fist and let out a sigh, and that just breaks Hyelin's heart even more. Hyelin practically leaps off the bench and faces Heeyeon, determined to make her feel better.

"Pfft, who cares about that Arin chick, anyway? I've heard terrible things about her." Hyelin says, huffing and crossing her arms. She can't bring herself to look Heeyeon in the eye for some reason. It's a little too much for her.

Heeyeon looks surprised by this girl suddenly yelling at her, and she's a little mortified that she knows about Arin. "Is it that obvious…?" Heeyeon asks quietly, glancing away.

"Uh, yes? I mean, no?" Hyelin shakes her head and quickly changes the topic, pulling Heeyeon's wallet out of her pocket, "H-Hey, did you drop this by any chance?" That should work.

Heeyeon blinks and looks at the item in Hyelin's hand. "...Yeah, it is. Thanks. I didn't even know I dropped it." She reaches out for it when Hyelin passes it over, and she opens it up and grabs the letter before tucking the wallet away, "Well, guess I won't need this anymore…" She mutters, tearing the letter up and walking over to the nearest trash can to throw it away.

Hyelin winces and watches on sadly as Heeyeon destroys the letter, but it's not like she can protest it. She just closes her mouth and accepts it. She can only imagine what Heeyeon's going through. "Like I said, I've heard horrible things about her. But forget about her already… I uh… I'm gonna grab something to eat! And you can come with me if you want…" Hyelin flashes a smile and moves her hands behind her back, reaching into her coat sleeve to pull out some money she lifted from Heeyeon's wallet while handing it back, "It's even on me…"

"Well…" Heeyeon looks Hyelin over before shrugging and grinning faintly, "If you're paying, then I'm not one to say no."

"Sweet." Hyelin grins, perking up, "I know a place I can take you. It's as much food as you can eat."

"Sounds perfect!" Heeyeon immediately cheers up at the thought of food, "And, heh… Thanks. I'm Hani, by the way."

"Hani?" Hyelin repeats, turning around and starting to walk away, "That's some nickname. I'm Hyelin."

"Huh? How'd you know it was a nickname?" Hani asks as she follows Hyelin.

Hyelin's eyes shoot wide. "Uh… Lucky guess? Yeah…"

That answer seems to appease Hani and she just shrugs. "Fair enough…"

Hyelin can't help but crack a smile to herself as they walk together.

Hani really is one of those smart but stupid college kids…


	2. The Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wanted to expand the story a bit, so take a two shot

No one else has ever filled Hyelin's thoughts like Hani does.

It's absolutely ridiculous, Hyelin tells herself constantly, that she can't keep Hani off her mind. Ever since that day she stole Hani's wallet, she's been thinking of her, and every once in a while they run into each other, which Hyelin orchestrates more than she cares to admit. Because of Hani's schedule, Hyelin's only ever had lunch with her the first day they met, but she's able to accompany Hani at times when she walks to class or needs to go into town for errands. At one point, Hani finally suggests another time for the two of them to hang out for real, and Hyelin's been anticipating it ever since the words left Hani's mouth.

Hyelin knows that her feelings are an absolute mess. She hates it. Hani probably sees her as an acquaintance at best yet Hyelin is in this deep. Hyelin doesn't even know what to do if they actually become close and Hani starts wanting to know about her. What would she even say? "Oh, I'm a con artist and a high school dropout and I loiter around this place to rob students and to talk to you sometimes." That wouldn't fly. But Hyelin doesn't care about logic anymore. She just wants to see Hani again. It's absolutely pathetic.

When the day for their plans arrive, Hyelin makes her way through the city. It's raining and it's cold, so Hyelin wears her long, heavy coat and wraps her arms around herself to keep warm. She's walking along the streets, mostly keeping to herself and not in her usual scout mode, looking for targets. She barely processes any of her surroundings because her mind is still spinning because of Hani. Hyelin somehow snaps out of her reverie enough to notice anything because a door with a bell closes nearby her and the sound jolts her. Hyelin sees how a flower shop vendor is taking some of his outdoor selections and bouquets inside so the rain doesn't damage them. The vendor has his back to the outdoor display because he's adjusting a bouquet he just brought indoors, and Hyelin sees it as a perfect opportunity.

It's sloppy compared to her usual work but she swipes a bouquet of roses, and Hyelin just grins like an idiot as she keeps walking, staring down at the roses and thinking of what a perfect gift they'd be. Maybe she could use them to let Hani know how she feels… Hyelin's face reddened at the thought. She feels so childish and pathetic because of her feelings. She's never felt this stupid before.

Before Hyelin can beat herself up for long, she hears a loud shout behind her, and she turns to see a police officer walking towards her. "Hey! You need to pay for that!"

"Son of a  _bitch_ …" Hyelin mutters before breaking out into a run, weaving her way through the city crowds and sprinting as fast as possible. She checks over her shoulder every once in a while to see where the cop is, and it seems like he's gaining on her.

Hyelin growls and looks around briefly, trying to recognize where she is in the city since she's been zoning out the whole walk before. She gets a rough picture and knows a good alleyway she can slip into, so she makes a sharp right into the alley once she gets there. Hyelin peers over her shoulder to gauge how close he is, and he's only a few meters behind once she slips into the alleyway. She tears off her coat jacket and throws it at the cop, covering his face and causing him to trip on the fabric of the long coat. It buys her a few moments to get a larger lead, and she sprints as fast as possible to get away.

As she runs, the puddles she darts through splash water up her pant legs and it's so cold, and being in just a long-sleeved tee is absolutely freezing in the pouring rain. Soon Hyelin comes across a turn and then a fork in a road. The turn gives her a few moments out of the cop's vision, so she knows she can make a getaway if she can play the fork in the road right. She looks down at the bouquet in her hands and sighs, knowing she has to ditch it. She takes two roses for herself before throwing the bouquet down the right path and running down the left, so the cop would think she made her escape and dropped the bouquet after turning right.

Hyelin comes across a high chain-link fence down the route and she knows she can't turn around, so as she runs she puts the two roses in her mouth and jumps as high up the fence as she can before scaling it, though the barb wire at the top makes things difficult. She climbs as high as she can before walking her feet up the brick wall beside the fence so she can vault herself over. She mostly clears the barb wire but she cuts her one hand on the fall down, and she lands poorly and collapses on the wet gravel. The water of the puddle splashes over her and sends chills throughout her body, and Hyelin curses loudly at herself for getting herself into a situation this absolutely stupid. She feels slightly better when she sits up in the puddle and checks the roses and they're both still intact, and Hyelin hates how it brings a smile to her face. However, she feels her one cheek stinging, and she's fairly certain she got scratched by a thorn while holding the roses in her mouth…

Hyelin pushes herself off the ground and stumbles before regaining her balance. She looks back and doesn't see the cop in sight, so she feels pretty safe and she slowly walks the rest of the way to the campus. She wraps her arms tightly around herself and shivers, absolutely freezing in the cold rain. Her hair sticks to her face and it's cold and unpleasant and wet. She walks as quickly as she can to Hani's campus given her condition.

When Hyelin gets to the campus, she panics a little because Hani asked her to meet her at her dorm. Hyelin doesn't want to tell Hani she's not a student at the university yet, and she can't get inside the dorm without a keycard. She walks towards the building and sees someone else heading inside, so she runs after that person and he holds the door for her. She blesses her small bit of luck left and she runs a hand through her slick hair, brushing it out of her face. Hyelin heads towards the room that Hani told her, moving slowly to try and cherish the comforting heat of the building.

Drawing in a breath, Hyelin channels her courage to knock on Hani's door. She's still shivering from how cold it was outside and she's still drenched in mud and rain, but she has her roses… That's all that matters.

Hani opens the door shortly enough and she catches sight of Hyelin, and her eyebrows furrow from concern. "God, what's happened to you?! It's freezing out there and you're soaking wet…"

Hyelin smiles nervously and shrugs, trying to play it off. "Sorry I'm late… I hit a little bit of a snag on my way over." She holds her hands behind her back to hide the roses.

"What the hell kind of snag could've caused this?" Hani asks, looking Hyelin over and seeing the dirty scuffs on her clothes from running in the rain, "And are you… shivering? Geez, come on inside. We can't go out like this…"

That causes Hyelin to frown, though she walks inside like Hani asks. She doesn't want Hani to worry too much, so she spins around and presents Hani with the roses. "Forget about the snag! I got these for you!"

Hani blinks in surprise to see the roses, but she soon narrows her eyes from suspicion as she takes them. She can see the cuts on Hyelin's face and palm, and Hani needs the truth from Hyelin immediately. "Okay. Enough games. What happened?"

Seeing Hani not react how she had hoped makes Hyelin glance to the ground with a frown. She knows she can't lie or else Hani would be really mad at her and she'd probably never see her again… "...Gah, whatever, fine. I got caught trying to steal a bouquet of roses from a flower stand so I had to run… I got away but the escape was a little messy." She forces a smile to her face to try and ease the weight of the truth, "But these two roses survived the escape!"

"You tried to steal these?!" Hani asks in shock.

"Not tried. I did steal them. Give me credit." Hyelin corrects, but she realizes how bad that is to say and she just sighs, lowering her head, "I'm sorry… It was the only way I could get them, and I really wanted to give them to you."

Hani purses her lips and looks down at the roses. "No one's ever stolen for me before…"

"And, um… If we're on this topic of 'honesty' or whatever, then I should say that the stealing thing happens a lot. It's… pretty much how I make enough money to survive." Hyelin admits with another sigh. She prods her fingertips together out of nervousness, and she glances up briefly to gauge Hani's reaction, and she's not as livid as Hyelin expects.

Instead, Hani just looks concerned. "Do you at least have a place to stay?"

Hyelin nods. "I stay with my mother, but… it's not easy on her to raise me."

"I'm sorry… That's gotta be rough." Hani frowns, and she looks back down at the roses. After a little while, it brings a smile to her face, "But… These are really pretty."

That sort of reaction leaves Hyelin confused. "Wait… You aren't mad?!" She asks, hopeful.

"I mean, stealing's bad, but… eh, I don't really care. I'm a college student getting myself into debt. I wish I could rob a bank half the time." Hani shrugs.

Hyelin laughs at that, ducking her head out of view sheepishly. "I mean, I don't do anything as crazy as robbing banks. I normally stick to stealing wallets and roses."

Hani draws in a breath, looking like she wants to say something, and she bites her lip and smiles faintly. "But you don't steal roses for just  _anyone_ , do you?"

A blush creeps up on Hyelin's cheeks, but she just laughs it off. "No… This is my first time."

That makes Hani grin boldly, and she walks over to her dorm closet and opens up her wardrobe. "Well, if we're still gonna go grab something to eat, you'll need to wear something so you don't freeze to death outside." She pulls out some new clothes for Hyelin to borrow and hands them over. "Here."

Hyelin blinks from surprise and she takes the clothes from Hani, moving to change into them. "You know…" Hyelin muses as she finishes up changing, "You really shouldn't trust a thief with clothes these nice…"

Hani glances over at Hyelin and just tilts her head, a sly grin on her face as she walks closer. "I wouldn't trust anything to a thief unless she was really, really cute."

Hyelin smiles and sways on her feet. "You think so?"

Hani nods, and she uses a tissue she grabbed to dab at the cut on Hyelin's face. "That's right." She laughs some, seeing how Hyelin's nose scrunches when Hani touches her face, "Now come on, let's head out. Lunch is even on me this time." She teases, walking away to grab an umbrella before waiting by the door.

Lowering her head, Hyelin can only laugh nervously at Hani's comment. "Heh, yeah, about that… You technically paid last time. I lifted the money from your wallet to 'treat' you to lunch after the whole Arin thing…" She frowns, suddenly feeling terrible and afraid to admit it, but she knows she has to be honest with Hani.

"Whaaaat?" Hani whines, pouting her lips, "You stole from me?! How'd you even get my wallet?!" But then she remembers how they met, and she just glances away, "Ohhh… I see now…"

"I-I'm sorry! I promise I only took enough to pay for lunch! I-I'll pay you back even!" Hyelin practically pleads for Hani to not be upset with her, "A-And I gave you back your wallet! I  _never_  do that! That means I really like you!"

Yet Hani isn't that upset; she just looks to be disappointed to have fallen for Hyelin's tricks like an idiot. "Well… if you pay me back and promise to never do it again, that's fine, since you just used my money on  _me…_  Though I kind of feel bad asking you to pay it back if your situation is really that bad…" She pauses too as she lets some of Hyelin's words sink in, "...And if you really do like me that much, then it's not that much of a problem…"

"I wanna make it right, Hani…" Hyelin frowns, "I don't want to have it on my conscience that I stole from you. I couldn't even steal your whole wallet with a good conscience so I had to give it back to you…"

Hani still only shrugs and she motions for Hyelin to leave with her already. "If you pick up the bill for our date for real this time, then I'd say we're even." She even smiles at that, "Now stop making me wait before I change my mind."

Hyelin hurriedly nods and runs to Hani's side so they can leave, and she follows Hani through the dorm. "It's on me! With my actual money! Promise!"

When they step outside of the building, Hani opens the umbrella and links her arm with Hyelin's so they can both be protected from the rain. The added warmth of being so close in the cold helps too… "You're cute for a little delinquent." She says softly, laughing under her breath.

Hyelin just puffs out her cheeks, yet she still leans deeper into Hani's side and clings to her arm. "Shut up… You're awfully trusting of this little delinquent."

"I'm kind of an idiot around cute girls." Hani admits with a sheepish grin, "And besides… you said you liked me too much to keep my wallet, so I know you won't try it again." She turns a little smug at that last part, finding amusing to tease Hyelin.

"Shut up!" Hyelin growls, feeling her cheeks going warm, "You don't know that I won't do it again!"

"Actually, I kind of do." Hani laughs. Hyelin's fluster is just too telling. "But, I do have a question for you though."

Hani's change in tone makes Hyelin blink, and she turns to look up at Hani. "What?"

Hani meets Hyelin's eye. "What made you give me my wallet back? I was none the wiser that it was gone. You could've made off with it easily."

Blinking, Hyelin has to glance away, a bit embarrassed to admit the truth. "There was a letter… I had to give you back the letter. I couldn't let you rewrite it when it was just so perfectly written the first time…"

Hani gulps. It's her turn to be flustered. "Y-You read that?!"

"I'm sorry! It fell out of your wallet and I wanted to see if there was money inside!" Hyelin panics, "Don't be embarrassed! It was a really sweet letter and I couldn't just take it when you had to give it to Arin! A-And I kind of read it a few times imagining myself as the person you were writing to and it was really nice…"

Hani can't tell if she's embarrassed or flattered or some confusing combination of the two. She just averts her gaze so she's looking ahead, unable to look at Hyelin when her face is this red from blushing. "T-That's… cool. Yeah. This isn't mortifying…"

"You're not the only one mortified…" Hyelin grumbles, though she shakes her head and looks towards Hani again, determined to cheer her up, "I had to give your wallet back to you when I read that letter. Even if it wasn't meant for me, I knew you had to give it to that Arin girl! I wasn't even planning on taking any money until, well, you know what happened, and I wanted to cheer you up and I was secretly ecstatic that I had a chance to spend time with you so I treated you to lunch with money I took because I didn't have enough on my own to do it otherwise…"

Hani smiles faintly, lowering her chin under her scarf to try and hide her silly grin. "I'm glad you stole my wallet and that I didn't give her that letter, then…"

A response like that catches Hyelin off-guard. "You...are?"

"Because then she would've known how I felt and I would've had to be rejected and it would've been so, so awkward– and I wouldn't get to spend time with you." Hani says softly, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Hyelin.

Hyelin can only laugh awkwardly at that, unsure of what all to say and unsure if she can even talk coherently at that, but she soon mellows out and grins. "I'm glad I stole your wallet because giving it back gave me a reason to talk to you."

Hani nestles deeper into Hyelin's side and sighs contently, watching the road ahead as they walk together. "Although… if you ever touch my wallet again, I'm never speaking to you ever again." She teases, laughing darkly.

Hyelin's eyes go wide and she nods, suddenly very afraid. "I promise I won't! Believe me!"

Hani just laughs again, a lot louder and more genuine this time around. "Don't worry! I believe you!"

It takes Hyelin a second but eventually she laughs too, and she rests her head on Hani's shoulder and closes her eyes, smiling like an idiot to be next to her.

Later on, on the walk back from their lunch, Hyelin taps Hani's shoulder and grins, and Hani looks over to see her pulling out a rose from behind her back and holding it out for Hani. Hyelin has a hint of a blush on her cheeks when she does so, and Hani takes the rose and smiles at it, feeling a warmth in her chest.

While Hyelin steals a rose, Hani wraps her arms around Hyelin and steals a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: haseulhae  
> curiouscat: veLEvet


End file.
